Seems on August 4th 1941, Time Magazine reported on the real estate dealings of one of Bates County’s most notable landowners. William Scully had come to America in 1894, with a pocket full of cash he set about purchasing all the farms and land he could aquire. He passed the considerable parcel of land on to his son who seldom visited. The land was tenanted by nearly 300 residents.

In late July of 1941, the young Mr. Scully sold nearly 42,000 acres to the Farm Security Administration , which had evolved out of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Resettlement Administration, to form the FSA after President Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the FSA in 1935.

Much of the land that was purchased by the agency became part of defense projects, such as Fort Leonard Wood and others. Some of the land would be sold or leased to residents at 3% interest.

Mr Scully reportedly received 1,078,151 for his land making that about $25.76 an acre for the deal.

The area would then become known as Oswego Farms, according to the Time Magazine article.